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Monday, March 29, 2010

Tony Parker: Henry will be a Red Bull. One day.

In this country, there’s probably nobody closer to Thierry Henry than San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker.

Henry was the best man at Parker’s wedding three years ago. And as Parker told me before Monday’s game against the Nets, “we talk all the time. He’s one of my best friends.”

So it’s worth noting that Parker and Henry have discussed a potential move to the Red Bulls. What was the gist of the conversation?

“He said he wants to finish his career here,” Parker said.

“It will happen one day. I don’t know when because he’s in a great situation at Barcelona. They won a lot of championships. But he definitely wants to finish his career here.”

None of this is particularly groundbreaking, especially with all the reports linking Henry to Harrison as early this summer. But his best friend using the word “definitely” is more conclusive than the ambiguous statements from Henry over the years.

“He loves New York. It’s one of his favorite cities,” Parker said. “He likes the energy here, he likes the people, he likes the mentality.”

Of course, there is the timeline issue. The Red Bulls want a designated player this season. They’re not going to pay a transfer fee, at least not a hefty one. Henry is under contract until 2011. The other big name linked to the Red Bulls—Raul—is also under contract until next year. So it could be a question of which striker is deemed more redundant, therefore more likely to be cut loose by their team. It’s going to be an interesting process, to say the least.

Unlike Raul—who hasn’t played for Spain since 2006—Henry has a World Cup to worry about in June, an opportunity cloaked by controversy because of Henry’s infamous handball against Ireland.

“He doesn’t care what people think,” Parker said. “As long as France qualifies for the World Cup, that’s all he cares about.”

About

STEFAN BONDY covers professional and high school soccer for The Record and Herald News. He previously worked for the New Jersey Herald in Sussex County and the Associated Press. He is a lifelong soccer player, though fatherhood has interrupted a promising pickup game career.